1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to an independent, stand-alone, self-powered information display module which is capable of storing and displaying computer generated data corresponding to the price and related information regarding items of merchandise offered for sale in retail establishments, such as a grocery store, or the like.
2. Prior Art
In the past, a price indicating label was commonly affixed to items of merchandise sold in grocery stores. Thus, a consumer could easily ascertain the price of the item by merely locating the price label thereon. The advent of electronic, point-of-sale cash register-computers with associated optical scanners has expedited the identification and pricing of items at grocery store check out stands. Thus, the price indicating label has been frequently eliminated and replaced by a product bar code. The bar code is scanned at the check out stand and decoded by the electronic cash register, which prints out a description of the item and the corresponding price. A similar product bar code and related pricing information are printed on a label that is affixed to the shelf adjacent the item to which such information relates. However, because of a sale, product scarcity, manufacturer's discount, and similar economic factors, a change in price of the shelf item may be necessitated. To accomplish a price change at the shelf, grocery store personnel must peel off and replace the original price label with a new label. Such a task is usually time consuming, laborious, and costly, in terms or man hours, especially when an item undergoes frequent price changes. In some cases, human error may result in the affixation of the wrong or incorrectly marked label to the shelf. In other cases, grocery store personnel may forget, altogether, to make the appropriate price change.
As a consequence of the foregoing, the consumer will be misinformed as to the actual price of the item to be purchased. Moreover, the price printed at the check out stand will be different than the actual purchase price of the item, leading to a possible overcharge of the consumer. What is more, because of statutory regulations in many areas, such incorrect pricing could result in a relatively severe monetary fine being levied against the grocery store or retail establishment.
One attempt to resolve the difficulty in making accurate and timely price changes to shelf items has included a price display unit to be located at the shelf on which the item is offered for sale. Information regarding the price of an item is visually displayed to the consumer by the price display unit. Pricing information and power are commonly provided by way of hard wire connections between a central computer and power source and each of the display units. Such a system requires a complex transmission and coupling arrangement which is both expensive to implement and difficult to maintain. Additionally, the information to be provided by the conventional price display unit limited in terms of content and suitability to establishments other than a grocery store.
Examples of conventional price display units may be found by referring to one or more of the following U.S. Pat. Nos.:
______________________________________ 4,002,886 January 11, 1977 4,500,880 February 19, 1985 4,521,677 June 4, 1985 ______________________________________